Wiser than Death
by shellyrose
Summary: Nico finds a new demigod. Will she be a friend or something more. Takes place 8 years after TLO, HoO never happens. Rated T for now.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO or any of Rick Riordan's works.  
**

**A/N: This takes place 8 years after TLO, making Nico 20 and Percy/Annabeth 24. In this, the Heroes of Olympus never happened.  
**

**Chapter 1**

Nico's POV

For some reason, I really didn't feel like going back to camp. Sure, I had a place there now ever since the war, but spending the past 8 years in the same two places was pretty boring. I had spent most of my time at camp, but sometimes either my dad or Demeter would insist on having me in the Underworld for a little while. The only one that didn't want me there was Persephone. I understood why though, how would you feel if the one who love goes off and has kids with other people over their entire existence. No one else sees it I guess.

That's how I found myself here, in the middle of a small town watching a marching band practice from the shadows. I was passing by when I heard a voice. It was the prettiest voice I've ever heard and the owner of that voice was just as beautiful. She had light skin and a few freckles. Her hair was brown with gorgeous hints of red when the sun hit it and her eyes. . . I looked into them and I lost myself inside. I can't even tell what color they are. It's like someone took grey, green, and blue mixed them in the perfect way and created a brand new color. I sat down to watch.

She was playing the piano now with the band. She was really good at it too. Then, a man said, "Okay now take it from the top." She walked away from the piano and towards the podium. As she climbed up her pant leg lifted a little and I noticed a knife strapped to her ankle.

_Even better, _I thought to myself, _beautiful, has a passion, and dangerous._

That's when all Hades broke loose.

A hell-hound jumped from the underbrush towards her. Damn, I should have noticed it, but I was too distracted. Just as I was about to run over to her, she pulled the knife out and stabbed the monster in the snout. It wasn't dead yet, but it looked at her like it couldn't believe what happened. As it was staring at her she took her chance and cut off its head. She had to be a demigod.

She turned around and looked directly at me and winked. Oh gods, what was the feeling I had in my stomach?

"Rose, stop messing around and get started," the man told her. Interrupting my train of thought.

"Okay, sorry Mr. Rodriguez," she told him.

-O-

So I was being a little creepy, when the practice was over, I followed her to her house. When I got there I was a little surprised. The house was small, but still absolutely breathtaking. It had a homey feel to it and just seemed right.

I was such a creep. A big, stupid, just find a way to talk to her creep.

I had just looked into the window when I saw her. The girl I had just seen take out a hell-hound without a bit of fear on her face was cowering against the wall.

"DADDY! DAD... DAD..." she yelled.

"What is it sweetie?" a man with dark brown hair responded from a doorway of another room.

"Spider," she whispered pointing at the wall. She was afraid of spiders.

"Okay, okay," he told her and walked over and killed the spider. "You know, I will never understand why the kids of Athena are so terrified of spiders." That explained the spider and her ability to think quickly. A daughter of Athena, I needed to bring her back to camp.

"I've already told you the story, Dad, like five times now." She told him.

Rose's POV

I sat in my chair shuddering at the thought of that spider. You think that at 17 I would be use to them, but the arachnid subject still freaked me out.

The other day I was in science class and our teacher, Ms Holt, was showing us pictures of different frogs and there was this one where the frog was eating a spider. Ok, so the spider wasn't that big or anything, but I still screamed and almost fell out of my chair.

Sorry about that, as a daughter of Athena, I tend to ramble a bit.


	2. Chapter 2

**I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or any other of Rick Riordan's works.  
**

**Chapter 2**

Rose's POV

I woke up with a start.

There was a taping on my window. _Seriously, Trish, this early. What time is it?_ I thought to myself. Trish is my next door neighbor and best friend. Since it was Saturday, she would be at my house bright and early to wake me up just for the fun of it.

_Tap...Tap...Tap._

I looked at the clock and saw that it was only 5:30. Trish is never up this early, so who or what was it?

I grabbed my sword off my dresser and carefully opened the curtain.

I choked back a scream, there was a pair of dark eyes looking at me. The owner of these eyes was no other than the boy I saw yesterday at practice.

_Think, _I told myself,_ why would he be watching you? Why would he be knocking at your window so early in the morning?_

I never got to figure out these questions. He smiled at me and motioned for me to open the window.

I grabbed my shield and my sword, just in case, and opened the window. He jumped into my bedroom with a swift movement.

"Who are you and why are you at my house?" I asked him, tightly gripping my sword hilt. I noticed that he too, had a sword. But instead of his sword being made of celestial bronze, it was made from a dark rock like substance.

"Um, I'm Nico di Angelo. I'm a half-blood like you," he said ruffling his shaggy black hair. Nico was tall, muscular, and was very handsome.

"How do you know what I am?" I asked him, my voice shaking a little. There was something about Nico, I could tell that there was compassion inside him, but it was covered by anger and a bit of fear.

"I knew ever since I saw you take out that hell-hound. It was really quite obvious," he told me. I nodded in response. "So, have you ever been to Camp Half-Blood?" he asked me.

"No, my mother wanted to keep me home. She said it was not wise for an ant to run into the rain," he looked at me with bewilderment. Obviously he didn't know what that meant. I sighed. "It means that it would have been stupid of me to go where all the fighting is when I have already taught myself how to fight. She gave me the weapons that I have," I told him.

"Oh, that does make sense," he mumbled.

"If you would like, you may stay here for a while. Rest is important and it looks like you haven't relaxed for a while," being kind was the least I could do for another demigod. He was the first one I've ever met and honestly I was really tired of feeling alone._ Please say yes, don't leave me as the only demigod in this town. _I thought to myself.

"Oh, uh, thanks. It's pretty hard to relax when you have just gotten back from the Underworld though," he told me, ruffling his hair again with his hand. He was so good-looking.

_What's wrong with me? Stop thinking about him... snap out of it!_ "Why were you in the Underworld?" I asked him when I was finally able to speak.

"My father is Hades," he told me gently. "Sometimes he asks me to go there and spend some time with them."

A son of Hades, I couldn't believe it.

-O-

Nico had agreed to stay for the next few weeks. There was an extra bedroom and even if there wasn't I'm sure my dad wouldn't have cared. That's the only bad thing about my dad, he cares enough to talk to me and love me, but not enough to realize the stupidity of letting a 20-year-old male that was totally hot stay in the same house as his 17-year-old daughter.

-O-

Nico's POV

It's Monday, Rose is at school. I'm laying on the bed in the room they gave me to stay in. We spent the weekend getting to know each other. She was amazing, the drum major of her high school's band, currently the head runner for valedictorian, and she honestly cared about everything I had to say.

Last night I had to resist the urge to kiss her while we were watching TV in her living room. She looked great, not that she didn't anyway. But her hair was up in a messy bun with parts of it falling out and she was wearing a cute t-shirt and shorts.

I heard a door slam and footsteps in the hallway. It sounded like someone was home.

Then I heard a loud thud. "Ow!" Rose yelled from her room. I raced in and saw that her bookshelf had fallen on her.

"You okay?" I asked her.

She looked at me with a sad expression. "Yea, can you help me please," she begged.

I easily lifted the bookshelf. She looked so sad and for some reason it really made me feel bad. "Are you sure you're okay?"

She sighed, "Yea, I've just had a bad day. It's nothing really."

I sat down next to her and put my arm around her. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." I told her.

Suddenly, she wrapped her arms around me and put her head on my shoulder. I returned the embrace, keeping her safely in my arms for as long as I could.


End file.
